NIA marks construction of Tarlac mega-dam

SAN JOSE, Tarlac: National Irrigation Administration chief Ricardo Visaya led the time capsule laying for the construction of Balog-Balog mega-dam project in Barangay Maamot here with Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco and local officials recently. The 105.5-meter high dam with three cascading sections each at 25 meters high and a crest length of 1.4 kilometers, will have a storage capacity of 560 million cubic meters and occupy 28,076 hectares as watershed and is eyed to irrigate more than 34,000 hectares of their agricultural lands. “This new irrigation facility was designed to irrigate a wide area of agricultural lands in the province of Tarlac,” Visaya disclosed, adding that target completion of construction will be in three years. To benefit from the irrigation system are the towns of Paniqui, Pura, Ramos, Victoria, Gerona, San Jose, La Paz, Capas, Concepcion and Tarlac City. The NIA pointed out that the dam is projected to increase rice production by nearly 178 percent from 126,480 metric tons to 350,980 metric tons that will support at least 23,000 farmers and the rice per capita consumption of Tarlac residents as well as provide inland fish production. It will also generate at least 43.5 megawatts of electricity through a hydro-electric facility.